iPad Air: Thinner, faster and the best tablet in the market

iPad Air: Thinner, faster and the best tablet in the market

If you have been able to resist the temptation to indulge in recent launches, including Apple iPhones, Nokia tablets, or Google's Nexus phones, then you could probably end the year by buying the newest iPad.

Labelled iPad Air, this tablet commands your attention. Why, you wonder, when dozens of other tablets are available at much lower prices?

For starters, in 2013, Apple sold 150 million iPhones and 71 million iPads, commanding 81 per cent of the global tablet market. Plus, the Apple App Store has 475,000 apps for the iPad.

iPad Air: Thinner, faster and the best tablet in the market

Much is being made about iPad Air being the lightest full-sized tablet. Weight is an important feature to consider when investing in a handheld device. The biggest convenience can be single-handed usage of the device.

Last year's iPad 4 weighed a bit more than half the weight of a MacBook Air and the iPad Air is quite a bit less than half the weight of a MacBook Air.

iPad Air: Thinner, faster and the best tablet in the market

This makes the iPad Air a good replacement for a laptop when travelling. And the tablet is more powerful, thanks to the new 64-bit Apple A7 chip and the M7 motion co-processor, much like the new iPhone 5s.

And the chip is not a drain on the battery. The battery can last for more than a day.

iPad Air: Thinner, faster and the best tablet in the market

There's also the new Nokia Lumia 2520. Running on the Windows 8.1 OS, Nokia sweetens the deal with a 6.7-megapixel main camera capable of 1,080p full HD videos, good low-light photography and a secondary camera with video conferencing abilities.

Galaxy Note will also sport an eight-megapixel rear camera and two-megapixel front one.